External debt rises by $3.7 billion in April-June

India’s external debt rose by $3.7 billion in the April-June period to touch $227.7 billion at the end of June, mainly due to increase in long-term debt, especially non-resident Indian (NRI) deposits.

The share of US dollar-denominated debt in the total external debt declined to 54.4 per cent as on end-June 2009, from 56.3 per cent as on end-March 2009, according to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data.

The stock of the country’s external debt would have declined by $1.3 billion at the end of June 2009, excluding the valuation effects due to depreciation of the US dollar against other major currencies and the Indian rupee in the first quarter of the financial year 2009-10.

The share of short-term debt in total debt declined to 17.8 per cent as on end-June, from 19.5 per cent as on end-March 2009. This calculation is based on the original maturity.

The share of short debt, based on the residual maturity, in the total debt accounted was 39 per cent.

The share of non-government debt in the total external debt declined marginally to 74.8 per cent at the end of June 2009, from 75.5 per cent as on end-March, RBI said.

The debt-service ratio declined steadily during the last three years and stood at 4.6 per cent in end-March 2009. The debt-service ratio for April-June 2009 worked out to 5.5 per cent, it added.